


Why not?

by TheViolinGirl



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: 6 year old Marianne, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Diver!Marianne, Diving, Imagination, Marianne talking to a fish, Marianne's parents are divers and marine biologists, Mentioned Claude von Riegan, Mentioned Hilda Valentine Goneril, Swimming, childhood stuff, just your crack high daydreamy writer here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29735739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheViolinGirl/pseuds/TheViolinGirl
Summary: "I can't take this off - I need it to breathe" Marianne explained to the fish she met as she floated underwater."Why not?" The fish asked curiously."I can't breathe water, I'll drown and die if I do" Marianne replied as she pushed her regulator back in her mouth (It was slowly slipping out of her mouth as she spoke to the fish)A conversation between 6y/o Marianne and a fish she meets whilst diving in the sea (told from her imagination)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

Marianne was diving in the sea when she saw a pretty fish swimming near her and decides to swim over to talk to it.

"Hey! Fishie! can I talk to you!" She called as her legs and arms propelled herself closer to the fish she saw.

"A kid?!?" The fish exclaimed in shock, he wasn't accustomed to seeing little youngsters swimming so freely among his brethren,as he turned to face Marianne,who was holding a water bottle filled with sand as a makeshift dive weight and her hazel eyes looking at the fish inquisitively.

"Hi! I'm Marianne von Edmund. I'm 6 years old. and I think you're a type of triggerfish that live a few feet from the surface. I'm allowed to scuba dive to just this depth 'cause I'm still so young, I wanna grow up quickly so I can go really deep like my mum and dad" Marianne introduced herself to the triggerfish and added a few other things as she floated underwater, trying to keep her balance.

"How...do you know all this when you're only 6 years old" The fish asked, surprised at the girl's knowledge about marine life.

"My parents are marine biologists - they study the animals and plants that live in the sea. They also taught me a few things about the sea by reading books and watching TV shows with me" Marianne replied as she quickly shoved her regulator back in her mouth as it was slipping out, spraying a few air bubbles in the process.

"What's that you have in your mouth, can you take it off?" The fish asked curiously at the notion of Marianne's dive gear that she has on.

"It's my regulator. It's connected to an air tank on my back so I can breathe underwater" Marianne explained to her new friend.

"you have to keep this on all the time you're underwater?!" The fish asked.

"I can't take this off - I need it to breathe" Marianne explained to the fish she met as she floated underwater.

"Why not?" The fish asked curiously.

"I can't breathe water, I'll drown and die if I do" Marianne replied as she pushed her regulator back in her mouth (It was slowly slipping out of her mouth as she spoke to the fish)

"Why do you have to breathe air?" the fish asked curiously as he had gills and breathed water.

"I dunno...I'll probably learn why when I'm older. I'm going home now" Marianne concluded the conversation as she ascended to the surface.

Marianne later asked her parents why humans breathed air and not water and later returned to answer the fish's question and ask more of her own questions.


	2. The question

"Whoo! That sure was tiring" Marianne mused to herself as she surfaced from the ocean and waded out of the water to go back inside her house.

"How was your dive, honey? Met and talked to many fish?" Her mom curiously asked as Marianne chose a new set of clothes from her dresser and came up to have her braids undone before going to the shower.

"I met a triggerfish and It asked me why humans couldn't breathe underwater, I really wanna know why so I can go back and answer it!" Marianne excitedly spoke as her mother gently pulled the elastics holding her hair together and used a wide-tooth comb to unravel her braids.

"OW OW OWWW!" Marianne cried out as her hair was combed by her mother.

"Sorry, sweetie. This time I'm gonna have to wash your hair for you and help dry it too so It doesn't tangle again, Okay?" Her mother apologised as she struck a deal with her budding biologist.

"Okay" Marianne replied shortly as she and her mother went into the shower to clean the seawater off of her.

*************  
"Why can't humans breathe underwater without scuba and why can fish do it?" Marianne asked curiously as her mother dried her hair, she was already wearing her spaghetti-strap dress that Hilda gave to her a few weeks ago.

"Well, humans can't take the oxygen from the water and pass it around their bodies, they take oxygen from the air and put it in their bodies. Fish have gills that take the oxygen from the water and pass it around their bodies right away" Her mother explained as she used some detangler spray on Marianne's blue locks before combing it once more.

"I think I get it now, I just need to remember until tomorrow so I can dive again and tell my friend the answer!" Marianne chirruped as she picked a bracelet from her jewelry box to wear.

"I see you've made a fish friend today" Her father called out as he arranged dinner - It was a vegetable pasta salad; Marianne's favourite.

"Yay! My favourite food!" Marianne cheered as she dashed to the table and grabbed her plastic utensils before chowing down without a second to spare.

After she finished her dinner with her parents, and changed into her nightdress, She made a promise to the fish she met earlier in the day.

"Tomorrow I'll dive back in to see him and answer his question!" Marianne cheerfully beamed as her mother tucked her in bed.

(Don't worry, I'll come back tomorrow to see you again, I hope you have a good sleep tonight. WAIT?! Do fish even sleep? They never close their eyes!) Marianne thought as she dozed off to sleep.

The story continues on chapter 3!


	3. Back to the sea!

The next day, Marianne quickly chowed down on her pancakes and quickly changed into her navy/teal one-piece swimsuit and had her mother braid her hair into two cerulean pigtails that hung a few centimetres above her shoulders and rushed to the shore.

"Uh-uh! What are you forgetting, young lady?" Her mother scolded as she grabbed the back of Marianne's swimsuit and picked her up like an eagle snatching a salmon from the river.

"One-hour rule..." Marianne pouted as she went to her beanbag chair that overlooked the sea and started watching cartoons on the family ipad, she also played some PvZ as well, and the hour passed by fairly quickly.

"Mama? Is it an hour yet?" Marianne asked, springing to her feet.

"Yes, you may take your dive now" Her mother replied.

Marianne quickly nodded as she hauled her dive gear onto the shore with her mother's help and performed the compulsory safety check to make sure everything was working okay.

Marianne strapped on her air tank as she did the buckles and adjusted them to fit her - It was sorta like second nature to the young girl now. She put on her goggles and slowly shuffled her bottom into the sea, inch by inch with her makeshift weight in hand, until the water was deep enough to swim in, She then quickly reached for her regulator, put it into her mouth and took a few breaths before descending into the waves.

The water enveloped her body like the Goddess' embrace, making her feel at ease as she closed her eyes and let herself slowly sink a few feet to the sandy seabed, her exhaled air forming a curtain of bubbles around her face. After a few feet Marianne also made sure to equalize her ears as well.

She felt the sand tickling her feet as she swam around looking for her fish.

"Fishie! Where are you?" She called as she floated around in the sea.

"There you are, Marianne" The fish answered as it swam out to her.

"I know now why I can't breathe water! - Our lungs are different!" Marianne explained jovially.

"Noted, then why do you have to tie your hair in those 'knots'?" The fish returned the question curiously.

"They're not knots! They're braids. My mommy ties them for me so my hair doesn't fly everywhere when I swim" Marianne answered back as she floated.

"They're very pretty, aren't they" The fish complimented the girl on her hair.

"Yeah! But don't you get bored of the ocean?" Marianne asked the fish.

"Well...I don't know...sorta difficult to answer" The fish replied.

"Oh no! I'm sorry - I didn't know it was a sensitive topic" Marianne quickly apologized.

"None taken, kid. You didn't know" The fish coolly replied.

"Do you have any teeth?" Marianne asked.

"Well, show me yours first" The fish playfully returned the question.

"Okay..." Marianne replied before quickly taking a breath in and removing her regulator to smile at the fish, showing her teeth in the process - she even lost a tooth a few weeks ago.

"Aren't they white?" Marianne asked the fish after quickly shoving her regulator back in her mouth and taking a few deep breaths, blowing lots of bubbles in the process.

"Wow! How many do you have in your mouth?" The fish asked, astounded for he had few teeth himself.

"Hmm...I think I have 19 teeth - one just fell out a few weeks ago. But actually kids have 20 teeth while grown-ups have 32 teeth" Marianne answered as if she were a scientist or a doctor.

"Whoa...I have 2 or 3 teeth" The fish answered.

"Do you have any friends on land?" The fish asked.

"Yeah! I've Claude and Hilda!" Marianne replied, the gaiety in her voice clear as a summer breeze.

"Can you bring them down here to see me?" The fish asked again.

"No...They don't know how to dive" Marianne replied sadly.

"It's okay" The fish replied in a chill-chill voice.

"Oh! I have to go for a snack now" Marianne exclaimed as she glanced at her waterproof elsa watch, her feet preparing to kick up to ascend to the surface.

"Bye!" The fish said.

"See you again!" Marianne replied as she kicked her feet on the sandy seabed to ascend to the surface, thus concluding her dive.


End file.
